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chevytrucks4life95
Novice
Jan 31, 2008, 8:49 PM
Post #1 of 10
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need s 10 lift kit help
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i have a 1995 chevy s-10 6cyl 4.3 114000 miles. i want to put an add a leaf spring kit in the back for 2 inches of lift but i want to know how it works and how they go on the old leaf spring
any help will be great thank you
go fast, die young, leave a good looking corps
(This post was edited by chevytrucks4life95 on Jan 31, 2008, 8:53 PM)
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 1, 2008, 12:28 AM
Post #2 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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Are you trying to lift just that back to a level position or want the back higher than the front?? They do make springs to U-bolt over the existing ones for added support, air lift shocks, or a block that would fit between the axle housing and the spring.
What are you trying to do and why just the back? You do know this will greatly change the alignment settings if changed - right?
T
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chevytrucks4life95
Novice
Feb 2, 2008, 7:38 AM
Post #3 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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i have keys to put on the tortion bars in the front to rise that 2 inches but i want to find out he best way to lift the back and i dont realy know how the add a leaf kits work im kind of leaning toward geting longer shackles but i dont know how hard it would be to put a leaf on
go fast, die young, leave a good looking corps
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 2, 2008, 8:43 AM
Post #4 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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Ok: I think I see what you are up to. I just raised the front of my own C/K 2500 with just the adjustment of the torsion bars to gain about 1.5 inches - actually to level the front to the back - not for any style I was concerned with and I do plow snow with the thing and the general angle of the truck helps. Note that in my case it did make a problem with alignment which is now at maximums of the adjustable angles even with removing the factory plugs for caster adjustment.
I would opt for longer shackles for this in the back and leave the springs alone. Quite likely you would need shackles 4 inches longer at the rear to gain 2 inches in the height - sound about right?
I also would bet you can get these for this premade at a custom shop as many folks do play with these and lots on non OE stuff is available for Chev trucks in general. Sorry I don't know a site that caters to that but they are out there.
I would try to leave the existing leaf springs as they are. These ride hard enough for my taste and adding one could really make it a buck board. My own truck rides like crap anyway and just the front make it worse!
Also pay attention to the single flex hose for the brakes for the back. The front should be fine as you are really staying within likely norms but they should be checked with hubs fully extended at max no-load drop and steer it to see the action working properly. I don't know of any custom made hoses that are longer so you may have to remount where the rubber hose attaches at the frame and extend the brake lines.
The other way to raise the vehicle is to replace all the body mounts (probably a kit for that) such that the whole body is higher and the chassis stays where it was. A few things would need to be adjusted for that also like shift linkage and perhaps some wiring. Plenty to think about,
T
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chevytrucks4life95
Novice
Feb 5, 2008, 9:26 PM
Post #5 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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thanks for the heads up on the flex hoses i never even gave those any though i plan on doing a body lift too how does that work with the steering colume and the shifter because of my manual transmition and my 4 wheel drive lever is on the floor. can i still put a body lift on it?
go fast, die young, leave a good looking corps
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 6, 2008, 4:47 AM
Post #6 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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There's lots to think about when things are out of OE spec. It just bent my mind a bit and if I tried to think of every last detail I'd miss some, but with the body to frame lift there's now lots to consider. Things like the steering and shift linkage - regular and the 4WD. Keep going and there's the parking brake cable (should be easy) wiring to O2 sensors, anti-lock brake wiring, gas tank to filler (watch out as that needs proper grounding for sparks!!!!) - egad it's causing a headache!
Just the spring work should leave the items within orig tolerances.
For a whole body lift I would seek out a one stop shop for the height you want. Two inches isn't all that much but still needs thought. I see this stuff out there but never did it. This is TMK one of the best chassis to fool around with as I think it dates back to 1982. MY 1995 may be the last best year to work with also. The computer controls changed in MY 1996 and have gotton so involved increasingly it seems they will try to adjust you sun visors or store where you use them in some memory in the damn thing
I don't know a site but there just must be a place you can get every single thing or adaptor needed all at once which would be a lot of help.
With just the spring work the ride will suffer some and you may find what I call "topping out" annoying. That's like when the shocks are the last thing to allow the upward motion of the vehicle just like there are rubber things on lower control arms, rear axle to cushion the "bottom out" situation when and if that happens.
Another consideration: Regulations which vary by state. Massachusetts will render a vehicle unusable on public roads in that you won't get a legit inspection sticker for real petty things like if your windshield washers don't work! No joke there! State of Maine will have your vehicle towed at the spot if your tires are not within OE specs for the vehicle! Watch out for stuff like that.
Of interest: I owned and modified a 1984 S-10 for the purpose of plowing snow AND keeping it street legal. Local rules in the snow states have to bend the rules some as we need equipment for this and virtually all would be illegal with that hunk of metal in front of you. I did choose and modify just the slightest on it's OE engine to allow for an hydraulic plow set up which is much stronger than the now mandatory all electric on the plow itself garbage for lift and angle of the thing. To accomodate the pump the end of the air cleaner snorkle assembly had to be cut off which is actually part of its emissiions control system and techically that made the vehicle illegal! I also knew that when a vehicle hit 15 model years old that they were exempt from most minor details and didn't they up and change the rules before I completed that whole thing and re-issued the rules to include all 1984 and newer motor vehicles - forever! At the age nobody pushed it with just that minor detail. It rusted out so bad after about 6 more years I did give up on the thing altogether for the one mentioned above - a 1997 C/K 2500.
Good luck with your project,
T
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chevytrucks4life95
Novice
Feb 13, 2008, 9:13 PM
Post #7 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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thank you for all the help. I got keyways that lift the front for the torsion bars put in, and 2 inch lift shackles for the leaf springs and i got trailmaster shocks that compensated for the lift and i love the look of my truck now. in the future i want to put a 3 inch body lift in but i cant find one mabye you can guide me on where to find one but if not i thank you for every thing and ill go on my way
go fast, die young, leave a good looking corps
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 14, 2008, 4:39 AM
Post #8 of 10
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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http://www.chtruckparts.com/ Try that site and see if that helps. You need to decide on just what suits you for the whole body lift. GM itself probably doesn't want to get too involved with this as it clearly alters the original engineering of how it would handle, stop and steer.
Good luck with the project,
T
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Jan 16, 2009, 8:07 AM
Post #9 of 10
(4254 views)
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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hey i did a lift on my buddys 95 s10 blazer and we just crancked the tortion bars and put 2in shackels on, it was real easy i would do that
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Jan 16, 2009, 8:10 AM
Post #10 of 10
(4253 views)
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Re: need s 10 lift kit help
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when you do the body lift MOVE THE OIL LINES THE FAN WILL CUT THEM!!!!!!!!!!
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